Thursday, May 31, 2012

Since you got the interview your cover letter and resume were obviously effective. You arrived on time, were dressed conservatively, smiled, gave a firm handshake, had the right attitude, did all the basics of Interviewing 101.

But you still did not get the offer.

Why?

First, did you send a thank you letter? Did you get it out immediately? Did you make necessary clarifications and mention particulars about the interview? Did you proofread it? Did you also send a hand written note?

Second, how did you deal with "negative" questions? Did you end your answers on a negative or a positive?

Third, what did you say when you were asked about former employers or colleagues? Were you at all negative?

Fourth, how much research did you do on the employer? Did you only study their website? Did you Google them? Did you dig deep?

Fifth, how much research did you do on the interviewers? Were you able to make a personal connection with them? Did you impress them with your meeting preparation skills?

Sixth, what questions did you ask? Were they about the job? Were they about the company? Were they about the interviewers? Did they show that you had done in-depth research?

Seventh, did you give direct answers to questions? Did you talk too much?

Eighth, did you listen? Did you really hear what the interviewers were saying? Did you pick up on clues?

Ninth, did you thank each interviewer at the start and conclusion of each meeting?

Tenth, at the end of the interview did you express interest in the position?

If you had an interview then you already know that not only did you meet the minimum qualifications for consideration but so did your competition. What you don't know is how well they – your competition – prepared and how they responded to questions. Nine times out of ten, that's where candidates fail. They do not succeed in differentiating themselves from their competition.